Home > List of eponymous diseases
A large number of diseases have been named after people. Most often, their namesakes discovered or described the disease, while occasionally the disease is named after the first patient described ( Christmas disease) or the place where it was first identified ( Bornholm disease).The proliferation of eponyms in medicine is partly due to the fact that until recently the exact cause of many diseases was a mystery. The best way to refer to a syndrome, then, was to refer to the person who first addressed its existence.
There is controversy over the naming conventions for eponymous diseases. Many sources now agree that an apostrophe should be used if the disease is named after the patient, and no apostrophe if the disease is named after the physician (for example, Down syndrome). However, older conventions are still commonly in use, and usage in practice is effectively random.
Eponyms by medical specialty:
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology
- GastroenterologyGastroenterology or Gastrology might be better described as the field of digestive diseases, which are traditionally separated by anatomic or functional category. For example, disorders of the esophagus might be listed under "esophagus" and also included
- Heyde's syndromeHeyde's syndrome is a syndrome of aortic valve stenosis associated with gastrointestinal bleeding from colonic angiodysplasia. It is named after Dr. Heyde, who first described the association in 1958. Signs and symptoms Aortic valve stenosis is a cause of – Dr. Edward C. Heyde
- Zollinger-Ellison syndromeZollinger-Ellison syndrome is a disorder where increased levels of the hormone gastrin are produced, causing the stomach to produce excess hydrochloric acid. Often, the cause is a tumour of the pancreas producing the hormone gastrin. As these tumors are b
- HematologyHematology is the branch of medicine that is concerned with blood and its disorders. It is commonly divided into three sub-areas, according to the type and group of cells it refers to. This subdivision is incomplete, as many diseases affect most or all of
- Infectious disease
- Metabolic disease
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Otolaryngology
- Pediatrics
- Rheumatology
